Round Ball, Such as a Soccer Ball, Having a Pattern of Fins to Resist Rolling

ABSTRACT

A ball, such as a soccer ball, comprises a sphere having a surface, a plurality of smooth portions on the surface of the sphere, and a plurality of flexible fin-like projections protruding from the surface. The fin-like projections may have a height of about 7-10 mm in the may be made from flexible and crushable rubbery material with a Shore A durometer reading of about 50-60. One effect is that the ball tends to fly a shorter distance and to stop rolling more quickly than the same ball without the fin-like projections.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of international patentapplication PCT/US10/046974, filed 27 Aug. 2010, which claims thebenefit of US provisional patent application 61/238,803, filed Sep. 1,2009.

This application is related to Design Patent application 29/364,674,filed Jun. 23, 2010 and to US patent application number 12/849,196,filed 29 Oct. 2010.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the performance of round balls directlytouched by players on a field of play such as basketballs, baseballs andin particular to the performance of soccer balls. More specifically, thepresent invention relates to a ball, such as a soccer ball, having alattice pattern protruding from the surface in a predetermined pattern.Soccer balls have been produced since the mid 1800's. Prior to thisinvention, balls in general and soccer balls in particular that areintended for the field of play have been made as smooth and round aspossible to minimize aerodynamic drag. The result is that existing ballstravel very fast through the air and roll easily on the slightestincline.

This invention addresses the need for a ball that feels and generallybehaves like traditional balls on the field of play but when struck withmaximum force travel much less distance and which resist rollingespecially on hard, flat or slightly inclined surfaces.

2. Description of the Related Art

Ball players have long recognized that the more smooth the surface of aball, the better its aerodynamics for swerving. Concerning soccer ballsin particular, in the 20 th century with the rise of indoor soccer andstreet soccer, some effort has been spent to develop a ball that wearsbetter on hard surfaces such as streets, that has a deadened bounce andis difficult to loft.

No prior innovation has attached an additional element deliberatelyintended to protrude from the surface of a ball in order to change thebehavior of the ball in the manner here in described. No invention hasdeliberately intended to increase aerodynamic drag and slow the way afield ball rolls without significantly altering the rolling directionand without substantial altering the other performance features of theball such as its ability to bounce.

The soccer ball is the preferred embodiment of this invention. The mostcommonly recognized soccer ball, as readily accepted by the consumingpublic, is spherical and made with a polygon pattern consisting of 20hexagons and 12 pentagons. Many soccer balls now break this tradition,however none of these have added elements that stick out from the ball.Indeed most of these new balls seek to be even smoother and more roundthan traditional balls.

Although the prior art has set forth variations for materials used tomake and shape the surface of a soccer ball, there remains a need for asoccer ball having a surface that maximizes aerodynamic drag andminimizes the extent that the ball will continue to roll once it stopsbouncing, yet leave the ball's other performance including its bouncelargely intact.

Patents with spherical balls with patterns on the surface include:USD095034, USD395690, USD405486, USD478367, USD501520, USD563495,USD585644, USD595367, USD599966, and USD609290.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is able to provide a soccer ball that meets FIFA(Fédération Internationale de Football Association (InternationalFederation of Association Football)), specification for size and weightand at the same time reduces the distance the ball can be kickedcompared to a normal soccer ball struck with the same force. The presentinvention reduces the amount that the ball will roll whether on flat andsomewhat inclined surfaces. The present invention is able to accomplishthis by providing the ball with a lattice pattern of fins protrudingfrom the surface of an otherwise normal ball sphere.

One aspect of the present invention is a soccer ball with an innersphere having a surface and a plurality of fin-like projections disposedon the sphere surface. The plurality of fin-like projections isinterconnected to form a predetermined pattern on the surface. Each ofthe projections extends a similar amount from the surface that rangesfrom 2 mm to 30 mm outward from the inner sphere surface depending onthe size of the soccer ball (official FIFA number sizes for soccer ballsrange from 3 to 5.) or the degree of effects sought. These fins may beattached in any of variety of ways including sewing or gluing. They mayalso be molded onto the surface of the ball.

Experimentation has shown that in the instance of a soccer ball, a finheight of about 8 to 10 millimeters for a size five or size four ball,yields the best tradeoff between (a) the combination of increasing dragin air and minimizing role on an inclined surface and the normal feeland (b) normal soccer ball reaction when the ball is kicked or headed.For the size three ball, the optimal fin height is about 7 to 9millimeters.

Another aspect of the present invention is a soccer ball having alattice of fin-like elements with a coefficient of friction that isdeliberately much higher than the coefficient of friction for thesurface material of most balls. This higher coefficient of frictionprovides increased friction (or “grip”) between the ball and othersurfaces including the player.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a ball with fin-likelattice elements having flexibility. These elements collapse underpressure thereby absorbing energy.

Experimentation has shown that, in the instance of a soccer ball, byusing a flexible and crushable rubbery material with a Shore A durometerreading of about 50 to 60 and a thickness of about 1/32 inches or 0.8millimeters, the air drag can be maximized, the roll on an inclineminimized yet the normal feel and reaction of the soccer ball whenkicked or headed is preserved.

Having briefly described the present invention, the above and furtherobjects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of theinvention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 view of the ball showing the sphere, the distinct smooth areasand a pattern of fins separating the smooth areas in a traditional 32panel soccer ball pattern.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are views of alternative fin profiles suitableto cause a ball made according to the invention to have the desiredperformance.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are views of alternative cross-sectional shapes ofthe fin protrusions that are suitable to cause a ball made according tothe invention to have the desired performance.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views of sewn seam cross-sections showing twoalternative patterns for sewing the fins into the ball. FIG. 4A showsthe seam turned to the center of the ball in the traditional way asoccer ball is sewn. FIG. 4B shows the seam sewn to the outside of theball. Either pattern can be used to achieve the desired performance.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a set of the fins of FIG. 1 showing theconnection of one fin to four other fins, two at each end.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, a soccer ball (100) is generally designated as thepreferred embodiment.

The soccer ball may be a traditional 32 piece sewn ball, or any of thenewer pieced or laminated balls. The core and cover of the soccer ballmay be any suitable material. Typically butyl bladders and vinyl-coatedfabric are used for many soccer balls today. Rubber bladders are commonin lower quality balls. Wound bladders are often used in higher qualityballs. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that other coreand cover materials may be utilized without departing from the scope andspirit of the present invention.

Extending outward from the surface (FIG. 1) are a plurality of fin likeprojections (FIG. 1, 104). In a preferred embodiment, these projections(104) may have any of many top profiles with a base shaped to suit theattachment strategy. In the case of sewing in the projections a squarestraight line base is appropriate (FIG. 2A.) However, those skilled inthe art will recognize that the projections may have other similarshapes (FIGS. 2B, 2C, 2D). The projections (104) are connected to eachother to form a lattice structure on the surface of the sphere. SeeFIGS. 1 and 5. The interconnected projections form a plurality ofenclosed areas encompassing discrete areas (102) of the surface of thesphere. When the invention is embodied in a traditional sewn soccerball, there are 20 hexagonal areas and 12 pentagonal bounded areas (FIG.1, 102). In the preferred embodiment, each of the plurality ofprojections (102) is connected to at least four other projections (FIG.5), two at each end. In the preferred embodiment, each of theprojections (FIG. 1, 104) meets two other projections at a vertexmeeting point of a combination of polygons.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are views of alternative fin cross sections (310)of the fin protrusions (304) that are suitable to cause a ball madeaccording to the invention to have the desired performance. The outeredges (312) of fin protrusions (304) are shown to have different shapes.Each of the plurality of fin protrusions has thickness between 0.2 mmand 4.0 mm and is flexible. Experimentation has shown that, in theinstance of a soccer ball, by using a flexible and crushable rubberymaterial with a Shore A durometer reading of about 50 to 60 and athickness of about 1/32 inches or 0.8 millimeters, the air drag can bemaximized, the roll on an incline minimized yet the normal feel andreaction of the soccer ball when kicked or headed is preserved.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views of sewn seam cross-sections (406) showing twoalternative patterns for sewing the fins (404) into the ball betweendiscrete areas (402). FIG. 4A shows the seam turned to the center of theball in the traditional way a soccer ball is sewn. FIG. 4B shows theseam sewn to the outside of the ball. Either pattern can be used toachieve the desired performance.

Unlike traditional soccer balls that attempt to make the surface assmooth as possible, the preferred embodiment of the present inventionemploys the fin-like protrusions (FIG. 1, 104) such that whicheverdirection the ball rolls, it must roll over one of these fin-likeprotrusions to keep on rolling. Moreover the height of the protrusionsin the preferred embodiment is such that any line drawn to connect anytwo points on the outside edge of the fin-like protrusions surroundingany one of the enclosed areas will lie above the surface of the sphereor be tangent to the sphere. The height of the protrusions rangesbetween 2.0 mm and 20.0 mm depending on the degree of effect sought andthe size of the underlying ball. Experimentation has shown that in theinstance of a soccer ball, a fin height of about 8 to 10 millimeters fora size five or size four ball, yields the best tradeoff between (a) thecombination of increasing drag in air and minimizing role on an inclinedsurface and the normal feel and (b) normal soccer ball reaction when theball is kicked or headed. For the size three ball, the optimal finheight is about 7 to 9 millimeters.

Traditional soccer balls are designed to maximize the roundness andsmoothness of the surface to maximize aerodynamic performance. The ballof the present invention has a flexible high friction lattice structureto (1) reduce tendency to continue to roll (2) change the aerodynamicsso the ball will be dead in the air, that is, will not fly as far or asfast as a normal soccer ball struck with the same force and (3) providebetter grip between the player and the ball.

Some examples of the invention provides a ball with higher aerodynamicdrag that a conventional ball without the fins and with the ability torapidly come to a stop when rolling on a flat or a slight inclinedsurface. In some examples the ball has an arrangement of fins sewn,glued or molded to its surface. In some examples the fins of a ball arethe same height while in other examples the fins of a ball may be ofdiffering heights. The fins may be of various heights, such as from 2.0mm to 20.0 mm, depending on the degree of the effects sought. In someexamples the lattice of fins are such that to continue to roll, the ballmust roll over a fin. The fundamental tradeoff in this invention isbetween the degree of normal behavior of the ball when struck and whenbouncing, and the reduced duration of flight and reduced distance tostop rolling. In a preferred embodiment the fins are sewn into the seamsof an otherwise conventionally constructed, sewn soccer ball. The effectgained is a ball that behaves like a normal soccer ball in most ways butflies a shorter distance and stops rolling more quickly.

From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the art willrecognize the meritorious advancement of this invention and will readilyunderstand that while the present invention has been described inassociation with a preferred embodiment thereof, and other embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings, still other numerous changes,modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which isintended to be unlimited by the foregoing.

1. A ball comprising: a sphere having a surface; a plurality of smoothportions on the surface of the sphere; and a plurality of flexiblefin-like projections protruding from the surface.
 2. The ball accordingto claim 1 wherein the material used to make the plurality of fin-likeprojections has a coefficient of friction higher than that of the smoothportions of the surface of the sphere.
 3. The ball according to claim 1wherein each of the plurality of fin-like projections has thicknessbetween 0.2 mm and 4.0 mm.
 4. The ball according to claim 1 wherein eachof the plurality of fin-like projections has a thickness of about 0.8mm.
 5. The ball according to claim 1 wherein the fin-like projectionsseparate the smooth portions from one another.
 6. The ball according toclaim 1 wherein the fin-like projections have outer edges such that astraight line drawn between the outer edges of any two fin-likeprojections that surround a smooth portion on the surface of the spherewill not touch the smooth surface except when that line is tangent tothe smooth surface.
 7. The ball according to claim 1 wherein a fin-likeprojection is connected to at least four other fin-like projections toform a pattern of shapes about the surface of the sphere.
 8. The ballaccording to claim 1 wherein the fin-like projections have heights thatrange from 2.0 mm to 20.0 mm.
 9. The ball according to claim 1 whereinthe ball is a soccer ball and the fin-like projections have a height ofabout 7-10 mm.
 10. The ball according to claim 1 wherein the ball is asize four or size five soccer ball and the fin-like projections have aheight of about 8-10 mm.
 11. The ball according to claim 1 wherein aball is a size three soccer ball and the fin-like projections have aheight of about 7-9 mm.
 12. The ball according to claim 1 wherein thefin-like projections are made flexible and crushable rubbery materialwith a Shore A durometer reading of about 50-60.
 13. A soccer ballcomprising: a sphere having a surface; a plurality of smooth portions onthe surface of the sphere and the separating the smooth portions fromone another; a plurality of flexible fin-like projections protrudingfrom the surface; the fin-like projections having a height of about 7-10mm; the plurality of fin-like projections having a coefficient offriction higher than that of the smooth portions of the surface of thesphere; and the fin-like projections being made of flexible andcrushable rubbery material with a Shore A durometer reading of about50-60.
 14. The soccer ball according to claim 13 wherein each of theplurality of fin-like projections has a thickness of about 0.8 mm. 15.The soccer ball according to claim 13 wherein the fin-like projectionshave outer edges such that a straight line drawn between the outer edgesof any two fin-like projections that surround a smooth portion on thesurface of the sphere will not touch the smooth surface except when thatline is tangent to the smooth surface.
 16. The soccer ball according toclaim 13 wherein the ball is a size four or size five soccer ball andthe fin-like projections have a height of about 8-10 mm.
 17. The soccerball according to claim 13 wherein a ball is a size three soccer balland the fin-like projections have a height of about 7-9 mm.